ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses Soap, the first detergent product, and the art of laundering (detergency) predate the discovery of the physical and analytic techniques. A number of techniques for analyzing solutions are readily adaptable to detergency studies, including turbidimetry, colorimetry, surface and interfacial tensiometry, and many others. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) measures electrons photoejected from sufaces. Although ESCA has no capability for spatial resolution and data acquisition is slow, it has great value in detergency studies because it provides information on oxidation states and structural effects. Builders aid detergency by preventing mineral hardness from interacting with detergent ingredients in the wash water, dispersing and suspending particulate soils (e.g., clay), emulsifying grease and oil, buffering wash water pH, and preventing the precipitation of anionic surfactants. The use of modern physical and analytic techniques (e.g., electrochemistry) played a major role in screening hundreds of potential builder candidates.
